Maxine in Hot Waters Over Bank Conflict

L.A. Observed's business writer Mark Lacter does a fine job pulling together choice quotes from the Wall Street Journal and N.Y. Times on L.A. Congresswoman Maxine Waters' ties to OneUnited Bank. Until a few years ago she was an investor and her husband was once a

director of the Boston-based bank, which has branches in Miami and L.A. to serve low-income and minority communities. The South Los Angeles Democrat has interceded timeand again on OneUnited's behalf. Last September she used her influence as a member of the House Financial Services Committee to arrange a meeting between the Treasury Department and OneUnited CEO Kevin Cohee.

Cohee, whose bank has been sanctioned by the FDIC for providing him with a new Porsche SUV and maintenance of his $6.4 million Santa Monica beachfront compound, was seeking a $50 million bailout. He came away with 12 million TARP dollars, even though OneUnited is considered to be existing on shaky ground and had been criticized by regulators for skimping on granting loans to low-income Miami applicants in favor of wealthier ones.